incumbent on the planning team to put forward an alternative that is palatable.
Ms. Cannon noted that half of the monument is included in Wilderness Study Areas. The
team cannot plan for those areas - Congress has to act on those areas. She assured the committee
that prior rights, such as existing leases, may be exercised, but they will be subject to a higher
level of scrutiny. The monument plan will not include the 176,000 acres of school trust lands or
15,000 acres of private lands. The owners of those lands may do what they want, and they are
entitled to reasonable access. Hunting and fishing will be handled by the state.
Bob Walton, Sierra Club, asserted the monument should be preserved intact. He
recommended that: 1) no paved roads be built within the monument; 2) tourist infrastruture be
constructed within the local communities; and 3) trust lands be traded out.
3. Community and Economic Development - Ken Sizemore explained he is a liaison between the monument planning team and the Community and Economic Development Strategy
Committee. The committee was established by the governor to coordinate local community
planning with the monument plans and to assist local communities in preparing for the impacts
imposed by the monument. He distributed a document showing the proposed mission statement
of the committee.
4. Comments of Local Officials - Louise Liston, Garfield County Commission, showed a map of the monument and noted that the boundaries are adjacent to Glen Canyon National
Recreation Area, Capitol Reef National Park, and U.S. Forest Service lands. The monument
reaches the Arizona border, but does not go into Arizona, even though the Grand Staircase
extends to the Grand Canyon. She displayed a map showing that the Henrieville water system,
including a pipeline and springs, is included within the monument. Another map depicted
electric facilities of the Garkane Power Association within the monument. A document was
distributed to committee members describing the Garkane power facilities affected by the
monument.
Commissioner Liston lamented that the federal government will never realize to what
extent the monument designation has affected local communities. Planning is taking a
significant amount of time for local officials. She noted the federal government has given
Garfield County $100,000 this year for search and rescue services and $50,000 for sheriff
services.
The following issues of concern were noted by Commissioner Liston:
1) Access to the monument needs to be worked out to properly plan, but the monument
manger doesn't want to discuss roads until litigation about the monument designation is over.
2) The status of R.S. 2477 roads within the monument needs to be resolved.
3) Additional public health infrastructure will be needed.
Gary Edwards, Southwest Public Health Department, reiterated Commissioner Liston's
concerns about public health infrastructure.
MOTION: Rep. Anderson moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:15 a.m. The motion passed unanimously.